Cops Track Man's Footsteps

Police Said A Transient Had The Car Of A Missing Woman. He Said Someone Else Gave Him The Vehicle.

July 1, 2001|By Robert Perez, Sentinel Staff Writer

A 25-year-old transient arrested while driving the car of a missing Orlando woman says he got the car from someone else, police said Saturday.

Joyce Colon, jailed Friday on charges of eluding police and reckless driving, denies any involvement in the disappearance last week of Rajini M. Mahtani, 62, said Barbara Bergin, an Orlando police homicide detective.

Investigators have not been able to confirm his story, Bergin said in a news conference at Orlando police headquarters.

Police said Colon has no arrest record in Florida, but he was involved last year in the carjacking of an elderly Philadelphia man. While the investigation continues, he is being held without bail at the Orange County Jail.

A block-by-block search for Mahtani will begin today and may include a large part of northwest Orlando, Bergin said. The search will focus on places where police think Colon tried to use Mahtani's credit cards to obtain cash and gasoline.

Mahtani was last seen Wednesday leaving Dillard's at the Orlando Fashion Square mall, where she has sold jewelry and clothing for more than three years. Mahtani left to get dinner at about 5:30 p.m. and didn't return to work.

There have been no verified sightings of her since then, Bergin said.

On Friday evening police spotted Mahtani's Toyota Corolla in a field in the 5400 block of Cinder Lane, adjacent to Rosemont Park. The driver of the car drove off and led police on a short, rush-hour chase that ended when the vehicle crashed into a BMW roadster at State Road 50 and Westmoreland Drive.

Bergin would not say what police found in the Toyota, but said it gave investigators cause for concern.

Investigators are trying to piece together Colon's whereabouts during the past few days. Surveillance videos show Colon entering or leaving places where Mahtani's cards were used, Bergin said.

SEARCH FOLLOWS TRANSACTIONS

Knowing where the cards were used gives investigators an idea of where to focus their search for the missing woman. But the first time one of Mahtani's cards was used after she left work was 11 p.m., leaving a lot of time unaccounted for.

"You can go a long way in 5 1/2 hours," she said.

Sgt. Orlando Rolon, the police department's spokesman, said Mahtani's credit cards were used as far north as the 8000 block of North Orange Blossom Trail, near Apopka, and as far south as the 9000 block of South Orange Avenue.

Bergin said Colon moved to the Orlando area about a year ago and has no address. He has lived part of the time with friends in Kissimmee and in Orlando's Rosemont area.

CARJACK ARREST A CONCERN

Of concern to investigators is that Colon was arrested in February 2000 in Philadelphia in connection with the carjacking of an elderly man.

The man was accosted in his driveway but was released a short time later, Bergin said. Despite the arrest, it does not appear Colon was prosecuted, she said.

Mahtani's family attended the news conference, but made no comments. Her husband, Mohan Mahtani, 62, looked weary with heavy circles under his eyes. Maya Mahtani, 31, held up a photo of her mother.

A second daughter, Monica Mahtani, 29, pleaded afterward for help in locating her mother.

"Please tell people to call 423-TIPS," she said, giving the number for the CrimeLine tips line. "Please, please, please put that out. Tell them there is a $1,000 reward. People are money motivated."

Bergin said a police hotline also is available 24 hours a day at 407-246-2746. The CrimeLine number is 1-800-423-TIPS.